Greek destroyer Velos

"Velos" (Greek: Τ/Β Βέλος, "Arrow") was a "Niki" class destroyer that served in the Royal Hellenic Navy (1907 - 1926).

The ship, along with her three sister ships, was ordered from Germany in 1905 and was built in the Vulcan shipyard at Stettin.

During World War I, Greece belatedly entered the war on the side of the Triple Entente and, due to Greece's neutrality the four "Niki" class ships were seized by the Allies in October, 1916, taken over by the French in November and served in the French Navy from 1917-18. By 1918, they were back on escort duty under Greek colors, mainly in the Aegean Sea.

" Velos" saw action in the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922). In 1918, after the Armistice of Moudros, "Velos" entered the Dardanelles with the allied fleet and was the first Greek warship to enter Constantinople under the command of Lt. Commander Petros Voulgaris. In 1919, she conducted escort missions in the Black Sea carrying Greek refugees from Pontus.

After the war, "Velos" was stricken in 1926, while her two remaining "Niki" class sister ships were refurbished.

The name was carried by another ship, the "Fletcher"-class destroyer "Velos" (D-16), which served from 1959 to 1991, and is now a museum.

ee also

*History of the Hellenic Navy